District of Columbia Limited Equity Cooperative Task Force for 2018-2019 Preliminary Recommendation Report May 2019 1 Contents Task Force Members....................................................................................................................... 3 District of Columbia Act 22-338 .................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Policy Action Items......................................................................................................................... 6 Administrative Action Items ......................................................................................................... 10 Financing Action Items ................................................................................................................. 12 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 15 2 Task Force Members Paul Hazen, Chair, U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Council Jade Hall, Housing Counseling Services Louise Howells, University of the District of Columbia David A, Clarke School of Law Amanda Huron, University of the District of Columbia Vernon Oakes, Oakes Management Inc. Lolita Ratchford, Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community Cooperative Risha Williams, DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) Ana Van Balen, Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Elin Zurbrigg, Mi Casa, Inc. District of Columbia Act 22-338 To establish a Limited-Equity Cooperative Task Force to provide comprehensive policy recommendations to assist District residents and the District government with improving existing limited-equity cooperatives, establishing new limited-equity cooperatives, and helping all limited-equity cooperatives succeed and prosper. BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the “Limited-Equity Cooperative Task Force Act of 2018”. Sec. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this act, the term (1) “Cooperative” means an association, whether incorporated or unincorporated, organized for the purpose of owning and operating residential real property in the District of Columbia, the shareholders or members of which, by reason of their ownership of a stock or membership certificate, a proprietary lease, or other evidence of membership, are entitled to occupy a dwelling unit pursuant to the terms of a proprietary lease or occupancy agreement. (2) “Limited-equity cooperative” or “LEC” means a cooperative required by a government agency or nonprofit organization to limit the resale price of membership shares for the purpose of keeping the housing affordable to incoming members that are low- and moderate-income. Sec. 3. Establishment of Limited-Equity Cooperative Task Force. There is established a Limited-Equity Cooperative Task Force (“Task Force”) to provide the Council with comprehensive policy recommendations on how the District can assist in the formation of new LECs and help existing LECs succeed. Sec. 4. Membership. (a) The composition of the Task Force shall be as follows: (1) Three residents, each of whom is currently a board member of an LEC in the District; provided, that no 2 residents shall be from the board of the same LEC. (2) One representative from a community-based organization that provides training, counseling, and client advocacy services to low- to moderate-income residents. (3) One representative from a property management company that manages cooperatives in the District. (4) One representative from a development company that develops cooperatives in the District. (5) One representative from a financial entity that specializes in the financing of LECs. (6) One attorney with experience working with LECs. (7) One individual who has conducted significant research on LECs in the District and elsewhere in the United States. (8) Other representatives appointed by the Chairperson of the Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization. (9) One representative from the Department of Housing and Community Development. 3 (10) One representative from the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency. (b) The Chairperson of the Council Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization shall appoint the: (1) Chair of the Task Force; and (2) Task Force representatives designated in subsection (a) (1) through (8) of this section. (c) The members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation and shall either reside or work in the District. (d) Meetings of the Task Force shall be open to the public. (e) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall provide administrative support to the Task Force. Sec. 5. Duties of the Task Force. Within 180 days after the appointment of all members, the Task Force shall submit to the Council a comprehensive report on: (1) Policy and legislative recommendations related to how the District can help stabilize, strengthen, and preserve existing LECs, as well as how the District can best support the formation of new LECs; (2) Funding options and sources to assist in the formation of new LECs and to provide technical support and assistance to LEC members and LEC boards in the District; (3) How to establish appropriate government oversight to ensure that LEC boards have the necessary financial and structural management resources to help them succeed and prosper; and (4) Any other identified needs or requirements for the successful formation and preservation of LECs in the District. Sec. 6. Sunset. This act shall expire upon the Task Force submitting the report required pursuant to section 5 to the Council. Sec. 7. Fiscal impact statement. The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). Sec. 8. Effective date. This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia Register. Introduction We submit this report in the midst of a housing crisis. Like other cities around the U.S. and around the world, Washington, D.C. is experiencing an economic boom, with infusions of new residents and investment capital. Our city is in better economic condition that it has been in decades. Yet the city’s rapid growth is revealing sharp inequality among District residents. D.C. has the highest income inequality of any U.S. city, with the 20% highest-earning families taking in 29 times the 20% lowest- earning families; and with black families in D.C. earning less than a third of white families overall.1 A 2019 report from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that Washington, D.C. had the highest percentage of gentrifying neighborhoods of any U.S. city, with over 20,000 people displaced in 1 https://www.dcfpi.org/all/income-inequality-dc-highest-country/ 4 recent years.2 District residents are deeply concerned about the displacement of long-term, low- and moderate-income residents from their neighborhoods, and from the city as a whole, with concerns about housing outpacing concerns about schools, crime, and Metro.3 As public schools are remodeled, library hours are extended, universal pre-K is coming online, and neighborhoods are receiving new retail investment, the question remains: who will be able to enjoy the fruits of our revitalized city? DC is experiencing marked growth to accommodate an influx of new residents, including an increase in the overall supply of rental housing--however this growth has been at the highest end of the rent range. Between 2005 and 2015, rental housing with monthly rents of $1,500 or more (in constant 2015 dollars) has more than doubled (from 30,400 to 75,700 units), while apartments renting for under $1,000 a month have dropped by a third (from 69,000 to 46,000). In addition, the District has lost over half the units renting between $500-800 per month--units that would be affordable to households with annual incomes between $20,000 and $32,000. District leaders, like city leaders around the world, are grappling with the question of how to provide truly affordable housing in the midst of an economic boom. Yet Washington, D.C. has been at the forefront of enacting innovative affordable housing policy since the first Home Rule government was sworn into office in 1975. Our city government created Rent Control as one of its very first acts, and followed up with many other policies designed to help poor and working people have a stable and safe home in this city. Of the many creative policies enacted over the years, one of the longest has been the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or TOPA, which has enabled many tenant associations to collectively purchase their apartment buildings and convert them into limited-equity cooperatives. Limited-equity cooperatives allow members to buy in for very low rates, and pay low monthly fees; because they are collectively owned by their membership, members have a stake in their housing and in their neighborhoods. The District has supported